1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to transflective liquid crystal displays. More specifically, the present invention relates to a reflective border area in a transflective display which is cosmetically similar to an active area of the display when the display is turned off.
2. Related Art
Explosive growth in the popularity of mobile communication and computing devices has created a burgeoning demand for low-power displays. Recently-developed transflective color displays provide the ability to display information in a low-power, reflective mode as well as through a transmissive mode which uses a backlight. Transflective displays offer a compromise between purely transmissive or reflective displays, since they can function reflectively in bright sunlight, but can also be backlit when needed in low-light conditions.
Unfortunately, existing transflective color displays suffer from a cosmetic problem in some situations. Transflective color displays typically have a black mask bordering the active pixels. However, in a white transflective display, the active pixels are white when the display is turned off. This results in a cosmetically undesirable combination of a white active area bordered by the black mask, with the black mask in turn bordered by the color of the housing. Thus, when the display is turned off it has a non-uniform appearance that is cosmetically undesirable.
Hence, what is needed is an apparatus and a method for alleviating the above-described cosmetic problem with transflective displays.